Peregrine falcon chicks hatched in Edmonton now learning to hunt prey in the wild

CBC
Sun, August 20, 2023

The peregrine falcon family, two parents and three fledglings, at the Cabrini Centre nesting box before the young ones got their flying feathers. (Submitted by Janice Hurlburt - image credit)

Three peregrine falcon chicks who have been residing on top of a hospital building in west Edmonton have spread their wings.

Two of the fledglings, a male and a female, had to be rescued and are currently at a site overlooking the Pembina River where they will learn how to hunt prey.

The fledglings were hatched at a nesting site on top of the Cabrini Centre, a building on the Misericordia Hospital grounds near West Edmonton Mall.

They were taken to the Pembina River location, known as a hacking site, earlier this month. That's where they are taking their early flights in nature, surrounded by trees and water.

"It's much safer for them and it also imprints them out in the rural area as opposed to the city so that they're going to migrate south for the winter," said Janice Hurlburt, a volunteer for Falcon Watch, a group dedicated to monitoring nesting peregrine falcons in the Edmonton region.

The third fledgling, a male, came out of the nest on July 29 and ended up falling nine metres down a boiler chimney which is part of the Misericordia emergency department construction, according to Hurlburt.

The male fledging wasn't seen for five days before he was rescued and checked by WildNorth animal shelter in Edmonton.

Janice Hurlburt holding a three week old Peregrine falcon chick. She has been volunteering for Falcon Watch for eight years.

Janice Hurlburt holding a three-week-old peregrine falcon chick. Hurlburt has been volunteering for Falcon Watch for eight years. (Submitted by Janice Hurlburt)

Since then, he has fledged — grown his flying feathers — and is now flying around with his parents.

"Right from the start I referred to that male as No. 1," said Hurlburt. "He just seemed more outgoing and stronger. He was the first one to fledge, he fledged pretty well and then now he's doing super well."

Last month, volunteers from Falcon Watch put up notices at the Misericordia, the Cabrini Centre, West Edmonton Mall and surrounding areas asking people who encounter the birds at ground level to not touch them and to call someone on the volunteer team.

The volunteers took shifts, sometimes lasting up to 12 hours, to watch the fledglings.

There are a number of nesting boxes under video surveillance in the Edmonton area, including the University of Alberta, the Bell Tower downtown, and the Shell Scotford site near Fort Saskatchewan.

On the left, the female fledgling after being rescued in the Cabrini parking lot. On the right, out at the hack site on the Pembina River.

On the left, the female fledgling after being rescued in the Cabrini Centre parking lot. On the right, the same bird at the hacking site on the Pembina River. (Submitted by Janice Hurlburt)

While the nesting box at the Cabrini Centre isn't video monitored, dedicated volunteers watch and rescue the birds.

"These birds really don't go any length of time at all without somebody knowing what's going on," said Dale Gienow, WildNorth's executive director.

Falcons are natural cliff-dwellers and do well on tall buildings in urban environments because they simulate the rock ledges. But urban locations can be dangerous for peregrine falcon chicks.

"They're inexperienced flyers and they can sometimes collide with buildings or get into trouble and end up in places that aren't really great," Gienow said.

Dale Gienow is the executive director of WildNorth rescue and rehabilitation center in Edmonton.

Dale Gienow is the executive director of WildNorth rescue and rehabilitation centre in Edmonton. (David Bajer/CBC)

In the 1970s, peregrine falcons were on the brink of extinction in most provinces because of pollution from DDT, an insecticide developed to protect crops and prevent the spread of disease.

Thanks to the likes of local volunteers and conservation groups, the peregrine population in Alberta has gone from one productive pair in 1970 to an estimated 80 pairs today, according to the Alberta Conservation Association.

For people who come across an injured peregrine falcon, the best route would be to contact a wildlife conservation group or a local veterinarian who then could take the bird to WildNorth, said Gienow.

"We would assess them and then we connect them with the folks from Alberta Environment and protected areas and get them back out into the wild where they belong."